“As we continue to grow our infrastructure business by connecting our brilliant industrial machines to the Internet, it is important that consumers experience connected things in easy-to-use, everyday ways. Lighting is how many first experiment with the idea of a smart home, and our insights show that consumers want the ability to control lighting from anywhere, automate lighting and pair lighting with other devices—like sensors, thermostats and door locks,” said Comstock in a statement. “We’re excited to announce our support for HomeKit as it will bring a seamless, intuitive user experience using Siri and superior quality of light from America’s most trusted lighting brand for more than a century.”

Embedded with GE Align technology, GE’s HomeKit-enabled LED bulb takes smart home technology a step further, giving consumers the ability to automate lighting according to the body’s natural sleep circadian rhythm. Lighting impacts our sleep patterns, and GE Align tunes the light spectrum to help promote the body’s natural sleep cycle by controlling the blue concentration of light output. In the morning, GE Align produces a bright, bluer tone that suppresses the body’s production of melatonin, and in the evening it produces an amber light, reminiscent of candlelight and campfires.

• Individual device control and grouping devices into scenes all under one command
• Interoperability and integration with other connected devices
• Secure pairing through authentication and end-to-end encryption between GE intelligent LED and iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

GE’s HomeKit-enabled intelligent LED offering will be available later this year.

LEDs are much closer to incandescent than CFL. But Full Spectrum CFL had some of the best CRI apart from the old filament. They have spent a lot in R&D… I think if you don’t put them side by side, you would like current LED color temps.

I agree absolutely. Home automation is a great idea, but only works well when you have a decent number of devices. If each device costs $25 to $50, then most people would only use them sparingly if at all. On the other hand, if somebody can get the price down to something like $10 for a smart lightbulb, and not require a dedicated controller, then it would be a game changer.

Any manufacturer offering the combination of low unit price and integration with HomeKit would make massive inroads into the home automation market. It could be worth selling lightbulbs and plug-in mains outlet smart switches at near to cost price in order to encourage sales of more profitable associated products like heating controllers or blind controllers.

I agree. I’m slowly replacing CFLs with LEDs as the CFLs burn out, but I have far too many light bulbs to start buying Hue bulbs. LEDs are pricey enough, which is why they’re being replaced one/two/three at a time rather than doing the entire house at once.

HUE had a great product (I think, I didn’t actually buy it) but they priced themselves out of the market for most of us.

The GE Link hub on the other hand, (a non color changing system) uses the Link Hub. Cheap and very unreliable, week range, and very un-user friendly. They do get points for a very good telephone support service and a decent iPhone app.
Lets hope GE does a better job on their new hub.

It’s all about the price point. I’ve got some hue lights but I do not use features enough to justify ~ 70$ a bulb for more of them. Siri has got to get better too. I can see it now…”Siri, turn the lights off”…Siri: “I’m sorry, I don’t see Lightsoff in your address book. Would you like to search the Internet?